The first in a series of forums in Port Angeles, Sekiu, Joyce and Sequim on Clallam County’s Shoreline Master Program will be Monday.
County-hired consultants with ESA Adolfson of Seattle will gather ideas from the public about how to update the Clallam County Shoreline Master Program, which was adopted in the mid-1970s.
The state Department of Ecology requires all cities and 39 counties to update their shoreline master programs by 2014, and Clallam County officials hope to send a draft update of the shoreline plan to the county Planning Commission by April 2012.
Monday’s forum will be in Port Angeles.
It is scheduled from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
A meeting of the Shoreline Advisory Committee will precede the forum.
The advisory group will meet from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the emergency operations center in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
Forums in other communities will follow through Thursday.
The schedule is:
■ Tuesday — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sekiu Community Center, 42 Rice St., Sekiu.
■ Wednesday — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Crescent Community Grange, 50870 state Highway 112, Joyce.
■ Thursday — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., John Wayne Marina, 2577 West Sequim Bay Road, Sequim
Each forum will begin with presentations of maps and information during a half-hour open house.
Members of the public will hear about the process of updating the shoreline master program and about present floodplain management along rivers and streams, marine shoreline erosion and human efforts to protect property and aquatic habitat.
Small work groups
Then, participants can divide into small groups to develop strategies for managing river floodplains, protecting both private property and environmental resources and ensuring public access to waterways.
County staff and advisory committee members will use ideas from the forums to develop detailed strategies to be offered for public comment in the fall, according to the Clallam County Department of Community Development.
Officials are seeking input on how best to manage river floodplains, protect private property, protect environmental resources and ensure public access.
“The county has heard from a number of citizens that these issues are critical and that people want to get into the tough issues that need to be carefully addressed to successfully achieve both public and private interests,” the department said in a statement, adding that people are encouraged to attend the forums as often as they can.
The consulting firm, which is working under a $599,930 agreement with the county, will incorporate public input and technical data to draft new regulations for shoreline uses.
Controversy
The state-required shoreline plan updates have proven to be controversial in other jurisdictions, such as in neighboring Jefferson County, which sent its update to the state in 2009 and early this year received conditional approval of its plan.
Much of the controversy has been due to buffers on land to protect waterways. Concerns about such setbacks were voiced during a Clallam County commissioners meeting in February.
The county received a $1 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency last year to define and achieve “no net loss of ecological function” of shorelines and to apply some of the groundwork to other jurisdictions in the Puget Sound basin.
Written comments can be sent by letter to Clallam County, DCD, 223 E. Fourth St., Suite 5, Port Angeles, WA 98362-3015; by email to SMP@co.clallam.wa.us; or by filling out a questionnaire at the forums.
For more information — maps, documents, a schedule of upcoming meetings and links to related materials — visit http://tinyurl.com/24r2mc7. Information also is available by phoning 360-417-2563.
